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Scholastic sports have traditionally been played on wide-open outdoor football, soccer, baseball/softball fields and running tracks or in large gymnasiums for volleyball, basketball, and wrestling.
Players in the newest sport at Mount Ayr Community High School, however, compete in a tiny 12×8-foot room located off the school library.
The MAC Esports varsity team includes (L-R) Silas Saville, Drew Graham, Coach Isaac Vox, Trevin Victor, Hayes Stogdill, and Tate Dugan. Not pictured are alternates Kellon Shaffer, Ryan Clymer, Jacob Murray, and Trace Knapp.
Say hello to the Raider Esports team!
Established and coached by MACHS social studies teacher Isaac Vos, the Esports team competes against teams from other schools in what would be commonly termed video games.
According to Vos, the idea of an Esports team had percolated for the past couple years before he signed on last February to formally establish and coach the team this fall.
“It was kind like the early starting of any sport,” Vos said. “You’ve got to have the equipment, you’ve got to have the games, you’ve got to have a place.”
The school purchased six new gaming computers, keyboards, mice, X-box controllers, and game licenses. Vos estimated start-up costs ranged $6,000 to $10,000.
Players are also free to use their own personal equipment with which they are more familiar.
The team currently consists of five varsity players and three or four alternates who regularly come to practice. For matches, five players compete against five players from the opposing team.
Practices are held Monday and Tuesday mornings from 7:00-8:00 a.m.
“They’re getting a little tired of practicing here because they’re like, we play at home all the time,” said Vos. “But I always tell them, are you actually practicing at home? Or are you just playing to play with your friends? There’s a difference because when we’re here, we try to prepare for our opponents.”
Vos explained how he tries to get his team ready to compete in a video game environment.
“Usually opponents stream their matches online,” Vos said, “so on the weekends, if I can find it, I’m watching what they did, and then taking a couple notes … if you can get an idea of what they like to do, you can figure out strategies of countering and how to set up your side.”
Just recently, Mount Ayr has begun to livestream its matches, which are available at www.twitch.tv/mountayresports.
For Vos, coaching goes beyond just strategy, especially when four of his varsity team members are also varsity athletes in other sports.
“[I’m] trying to foster the communication while not being aggressive about it,” he said. “I’m trying to have them work on that so that when we’re in front of actual people, their first impression of Mount Ayr isn’t, ‘oh, they’re a bunch of kids who like to yell at each other when things aren’t going right.’ I mean, things will happen, things will probably go wrong. But I want them to at least find a way to calmly work through it.”
Vos said players can get kicked out of matches for overly aggressive behavior or inappropriate language, particularly at the in-person state tournament.
Matches consist of three rounds with 10 different game maps in each round. The team with the last man standing in each map wins that game. The first team to win six games wins that round. The match winner is determined by which team wins two-out-of-three rounds.
At present 120 schools across Iowa sponsor Esports teams. Other area teams include Central Decatur, East Union, Clarke, Murray, and Winterset.
Divided size-wise between Classes 2A and 1A, teams compete in three separate seasons – fall, winter, and spring. Matches are held on Thursdays after school. Now midway through the fall season, Mount Ayr carries a record of 3-2.
At the conclusion of each season, the top 12 teams in each class qualify for the playoffs, with the top eight making it to the state tournament in Marshalltown.
All teams compete in the same game each season. This fall’s featured game is “Rainbow 6.”
“I used to play Rainbow 6 when I was younger,” said Vos. “I decided to try to pick it up again to figure out how to help coach them. I’m not like a fish out of water here because video games is kind of my niche, but the game is really technical, so if you don’t understand what’s going on, you might be lost.”
Vos believes the new MAC Esports team creates another opportunity for students to connect with their school and with each other.
“It’s just a way to get involved with the school in a non-athletic way,” he said. “Video games might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if someone were to give it a chance and see if it’s fine, I mean, who knows? They might be really good at it. It’s just a chance to be more involved with their peers, sort of create relationships, meet people they never would meet before … giving them a group of friends that they never would have had.”
